Bar codes are graphical representations of data, images of decodable indicia, the most common of which are referred to as one dimensional (1D) and two dimensional (2D) bar codes. 1D bar codes are images that represents data by varying the widths and spacings of parallel lines. 2D bar codes are also images that represent data, but in addition to the parallel lines, or bars, a 2D bar code may contain rectangles, dots, hexagons and other geometric patterns in two dimensions. A common example of a 2D bar code is a Quick Response (QR) code. QR codes consist of black modules arranged in a square pattern on a white background. The data encoded in bar codes are interpreted by optical scanners and/or software.
Bar codes originally were scanned by special optical scanners called bar code readers; later, scanners and interpretive software became available on devices, including desktop printers and smart phones. Today, devices considered bar code readers include, but are not limited to: pen-type readers, laser scanners, CCD readers, camera-based readers, omni-directional bar code scanners, and cell phone cameras.
Some of the leading manufacturers of mobile devices offer bar code scanning software that can be installed on their respective devices. The goal of this software is to allow consumers to use their mobile devices to scan bar codes that they encounter, including, but not limited to, those on products in stores or on advertisements for products and/or services located in media such as magazines and posted in public places, such as bus stops.
Rather than integrating a laser scanner into a mobile device, mobile device manufacturers rely on the camera in the device to capture the image before it is processed, i.e., decoded by the software installed on the phone or remotely accessible to the phone via a network connection.
The capability of a mobile device to decode a bar code is impeded by the speed of the process. In fact, it takes several seconds from data capture to decode out. The majority of the lag is because the camera takes too long to capture the image, slowing down the processing time in general.
In a hospital environment, bar code technology is used to label various objects, such as charts and medication, so that the data associated with these objects can be scanned quickly by nurses and other hospital personnel equipped with optical scanners. Optical scanners are preferable because of their superior speed.
Nurses and other hospital workers often need to enter data to accompany the scanned image data. For example, a nurse will scan a chart that will contain the identification information for a patient and will then, after examining the patient, enter information gleaned from this examination, such as the patient's temperature, vital signs, and symptoms.
To be useful in a hospital environment, a mobile scanning device should be easy to carry, light-weight, user-friendly, sanitary, and relatively inexpensive. Expensive devices are problematic because the job of nurses is very physical. Hospitals and clinical settings provide exposure to many substances that are not compatible with maintaining electronic devices. Also, a nurse's job includes lots of bending down and lifting. Exposing any mobile device to these types of external elements and rigors decreases its useable life due to wear and tear. Thus, a device that is replaced at short intervals cannot be prohibitively expensive.
Other than expense, two problems found in current devices, such as the MC50 and the MC55 by Moto, are that the designs are not ergonomic and not user-friendly. These devices feature an optical scanner and a keyboard. However, the screen is small and the keyboard is heavy. These features render the devices more difficult to carry and data entry more challenging. Specifically, Moto's MC55, which is still in production today, cannot be held easily by nurses while they are working due to its size and awkward shape.
The producers of mobile computers have produced computing solutions that are small, light, and user-friendly. These characteristics are all desirable for nurses and other hospital workers in a clinical setting. However, off-the-shelf mobile computers do not have the scanning capabilities required in a hospital or clinical setting. For example, Apple's iPod Touch 4 is lightweight and the touch screen provides a keyboard graphical user interface (GUI). Although bar code interpretation can be accomplished by software in combination with cameras integrated into mobile devices, such as the iPod Touch, using a camera and software to capture and interpret a bar code is much slower than using an optical scanner. Thus, although an iPod Touch is easily mobile and user-friendly, its scanning capabilities are slow and therefore are not suited for a hospital environment.
Other than the data entry capabilities and light weight, mobile computer systems are also useful in a hospital or clinical environment because they have wireless networking capabilities. Mobile devices can receive information and send it to a central repository or storage resource at the hospital. Additionally, these device can download records for update, make updates, and send the updates to the central repository. When dealing with medicating and treating patients, coordinating information between caregivers is an important part of a successful treatment regimen. Using devices that can communicate with each other and with additional network resources is advantageous to the workflow.
Connecting to resources via a network connection also enables individual devices to off-load onerous processing tasks and voluminous storage to other resources. These resources can be housed in the hospital facility or off-site. Resources may include those proprietary to the hospital's network and those external to this network, such as clouds, whose resources can be shared across different clients and networks. When a hand-held device can access a network, the capacity of the device itself becomes less important and the weight of the device and its components can be further reduced.
A need exists for a hand-held mobile scanning technology that combines the attributes of popular mobile devices, the ease of mobility and networking capabilities, with the advantages of optical scanning technology, its speed and accuracy.